The construction of the Mountain Division of the Western North Carolina Railroad is widely considered one of the greatest human accomplishments in regards to both engineering and construction ever undertaken at the time it occurred. The project took place over a period of several years in the late 1800s. Many people are aware that the railroad provided the first dependable access to and from much of Western North Carolina for the rest of the state as well as much of the nation. Many also know the names of some of those who were instrumental in seeing through the completion of this ambitious project. Names such as Colonel Alexander Boyd Andrews, of Andrews’ Geyser fame. However, what most people are unaware of is that at least 95% of the labor which built the railroad across the Blue Ridge Escarpment was completed by inmates from the North Carolina State Penitentiary… and approximately 98% of those inmates were African American men… the majority of whom were unjustly imprisoned…

This project was created to share the true story behind this human endeavor and to honor the memory of those who labored and those who died here.

Western North Carolina has a rich assortment of county historical societies, archives, and museums. The Western North Carolina Historical Association seeks to help researchers, historians, genealogists, and the general public take full advantage of these resources.

Get ready to go wild at the library for our annual Summer Learning Program. Join us for Tails & Tales – an exploration of wildlife and fantastical folktales. We’ll have an activity sheet with lots of fun adventures for all ages. You can pick up a sheet at any library starting June 1, or download it HERE. Check our calendar to find our most up to date list of programs all summer long.

The 2021 Summer Learning Program is open to young people, preschool through teen, with books and activities for every age. All library programs are free and open to children of all abilities. Come in and see what the library has for you!

The Farm Beginnings® class is a 12-month training session that uses holistic management to help beginning farmers clarify their goals and strengths, establish a strong enterprise plan and start building their operation.
Farm Beginnings will help you build these skills through one year of farmer-led training, mentoring, and networking.
Farm Beginnings is designed for new and prospective farmers who want to plan a profitable farm business. Classes will be hybrid this year, starting in October 24th 2021.
Farm Beginnings will be hybrid for 2021/2022.
———-
Applications open now, due by September 18th

Farm Beginnings® Farmer Training is approved by the US Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) as an Education Vendor. As a Farm Beginnings® Graduate, your training counts as a year of farm management experience when you apply for a farmland loan through the Farm Service Agency.

———-

NOMINATIONS BEING ACCEPTED FOR THE

2021 THOMAS WOLFE MEMORIAL LITERARY AWARD

The Western North Carolina Historical Association is now accepting nominations for the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award. Originated by the Louis Lipinsky family and now supported by Michael Sartisky, PhD, the Award is a partnership between WNCHA and the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Advisory Committee. It has been presented by WNCHA since 1955. The award comes with a $2,500 cash prize.

The deadline for submission of nominated works is July 31, 2021. Anyone with knowledge of an author who meets the qualification criteria may nominate the author for the award. To be considered, an entry must be a published work of fiction, nonfiction, drama or poetry and meet the following criteria:

1. It must be a first edition work; revised editions of published works will not be considered for the Award.
2. The publication date must be between July 1, 2020 and July 1, 2021.
3. The author must be a native of western North Carolina or a resident of western North Carolina for at least twelve months prior to the closing date for the Award.
4. An author may also qualify if the work submitted has a focus on or setting in western North Carolina.

Western North Carolina includes the Qualla Boundary and the following 25 counties: Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Surry, Swain, Transylvania, Watauga, Wilkes, Yadkin, and Yancey.

The Award Panel this year consists of: Catherine Frank, Chair, Director, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UNC Asheville; Dee James, retired Director of the First-Year Writing Program at UNC Asheville; Tom Muir, Historic Site Manager, Thomas Wolfe Memorial; Gordon McKinney, PhD, former president, Appalachian Studies Association; Terry Roberts, PhD, Director, National Paideia Center; Jim Stokely, President, Wilma Dykeman Legacy.

Nomination letters must specify the following eligibility criteria:

1. date of publication
2. birthplace or residence of author
3. setting of work

Nominators should submit a cover letter along with three copies of the work postmarked no later than July 31, 2021 to:

Wolfe Award Committee

℅ Anne Chesky Smith

WNC Historical Association

283 Victoria Road

Asheville, NC  28801

An awards ceremony and reception, in honor of the finalists and 2021 Award recipient, will be held in early December 2021.

The Association presented the first Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award to Wilma Dykeman in 1955 for The French Broad. The Award has continued to be funded, in part, by Mrs. E. Frank Edwin, a member of the Lipinsky family and for the last three years by WNCHA, and the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Advisory Board, both with support from Michael Sartisky, PhD. Other recipients of this prestigious Award include Robert Morgan, Gail Godwin, John Ehle, Robert Brunk, Michael McFee, Lee Smith, Ron Rash, Wayne Caldwell, and Terry Roberts. Sandra Muse Isaacs was the recipient of the 2020 Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award for her book: Eastern Cherokee Stories: A Living Oral Tradition and Its Cultural Continuance.

Get ready to go wild at the library for our annual Summer Learning Program. Join us for Tails & Tales – an exploration of wildlife and fantastical folktales. We’ll have an activity sheet with lots of fun adventures for all ages. You can pick up a sheet at any library starting June 1, or download it HERE. Check our calendar to find our most up to date list of programs all summer long.

The 2021 Summer Learning Program is open to young people, preschool through teen, with books and activities for every age. All library programs are free and open to children of all abilities. Come in and see what the library has for you!

Your vegetable garden is likely approaching peak production time—but when and how to harvest? Even if you are a pro, here’s how to make sure those caring for your precious crops while you’re away know when to pick!

What matters about harvest time?

• Harvest stage affects flavor and yields:
  • Picking too soon not only reduces the amount of food your garden produces but also may mean missing that perfectly ripened taste—although not all vegetables lose flavor after picking.
  • Waiting too long definitely means missing the best flavor—think sweet corn turned starchy—and your produce actually spoils. Crops literally go to seed have accomplished their goal and will stop producing!
• Factors that affect harvest and storage.
  • Warmer temperatures after picking can affect flavor—crops like peas and sweet corn that turn starchy, for example, need immediate cooling. Joseph Masabni of Texas A&M Extension, advises “harvest these vegetables early in the morning or right before you intend to use them.”
  • Not all crops benefit from refrigeration, however! And humidity levels and air circulation are important, too! If you’re not going to use your bounty immediately, some crops, such as garlic, dry onions, potatoes, and tomatoes are best stored only at room temperature, according to UC-Davis Post Harvest Technology specialists (see below). They also recommend that cucumbers, eggplants, and peppers be refrigerated only for 1 to 3 days and then used as soon as you remove them from the cold.
  • Advise those harvesting in your absence how often you check your crops, and which are most time-sensitive!

 Things to look for when you harvest

Harvesting takes more time than you’d expect—look carefully for items to pick amongst all those leaves and vines. This makes harvesting a great time to give your garden plants a quick check-up!

• Size matters!
  • Jokes abound about baseball-bat-size zucchini, but squash aren’t the only crops that can grow out of useful size.
  • If you intend to eat fresh beans rather than saving them to use dry, the beans need to just start to fill out their pods. 
    

    

     

• Color changes are usually important, too.
  • Tomatoes turning red are an obvious example, but how red is the best time for picking? Maybe earlier than you think! Picking at the “breaker” stage rather than fully red means your tomatoes will continue to ripen indoors, taste vine-ripened, but won’t suffer sunscald, or damage from insects or birds. 
    

    

     

  • Cucumbers should still be uniformly green, not starting to yellow. 
    

    

     

  •  Eggplants should be purple (light or dark depending on the variety), but still glossy, not dull 
    

    

     

  • Watermelons, on the other hand, should develop a duller, rougher surface and the spot touching the ground should be yellowing, not white 
    

    

     

  • .Detecting defects may mean removing fruits before they take any more resources from the plant—think blossom-end rot on tomatoes or peppers—or harvesting while part of the crop is still salvageable—such as a nip out of an otherwise healthy tomato.
  • Damage may alert you to insect infestations—minimize or eliminate, by hand-picking the culprits—such as snails or slugs—or treating to prevent further damage—wash away aphids on greens or treating pickleworm infestations of cucumbers and squash with pesticides, for example. Learn which “bugs” you see are pests and which are helpful predators!
  • Harvest “helpers” will be more eager to volunteer if they pick at the right time—and you won’t find all your tomatoes gone despite their size or plants loaded with overripe items bringing production to a halt. Alerting you to any emerging problems is another bonus.

“Harvesting” spent plants?

While picking your crops pick off dead leaves, spent blossoms, and trim errant runners to keep plants looking good and productive. Knowledgeable helpers can perform these tasks.

In WNC, most vegetable garden plants are annuals, or treated as such, so when you harvest, evaluate when it’s time to pull the whole plant—it may be too risky to ask short-term caregivers to make this decision!

• Is the plant diseased? If there are signs of disease, either do what you can to remove diseased portions, treat the problem, or remove the entire plant.
• Is production slowing?
  • Review fertilizing or watering practices to improve yields. Most crops need an inch of rain a week to prosper—water established plants deeply once a week if rains are insufficient. Check your crops’ needs for fertilizer and the application rates recommended for the fertilizers you are using.
  • Extreme temperatures may interfere with fruit set or how your crops ripen. Be patient if better weather will solve the problem! Note, though, that spring crops that fade with high temperatures are long gone; so too, frosts will damage tender crops, so harvest these before freezing temperatures.
  • Once you’ve decided your plants have passed peak production, pull the plants and consider planting a fall crop. See the calendar below for all the crops you can plant in August for a bountiful autumn harvest!

 Article by Buncombe County Extension Master Gardener^SM Volunteers

 For more information:

When to harvest specific crops: https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/extension-gardener-handbook/16-vegetable-gardening#vegetableharvestingguidelines

https://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/library/gardening/harvesting-handling-vegetables-garden/

Ripening after harvest:

https://gardenprofessors.com/ripening/

https://www.johnson.k-state.edu/lawn-garden/agent-articles/vegetables/harvest-ripen-tomatoes.html

Storing produce:

http://postharvest.ucdavis.edu/files/230110.pdf

Planting times for WNC:

https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/western-north-carolina-planting-calendar-for-annual-vegetables-fruits-and-herbs

NOMINATIONS BEING ACCEPTED FOR THE

2021 THOMAS WOLFE MEMORIAL LITERARY AWARD

The Western North Carolina Historical Association is now accepting nominations for the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award. Originated by the Louis Lipinsky family and now supported by Michael Sartisky, PhD, the Award is a partnership between WNCHA and the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Advisory Committee. It has been presented by WNCHA since 1955. The award comes with a $2,500 cash prize.

The deadline for submission of nominated works is July 31, 2021. Anyone with knowledge of an author who meets the qualification criteria may nominate the author for the award. To be considered, an entry must be a published work of fiction, nonfiction, drama or poetry and meet the following criteria:

1. It must be a first edition work; revised editions of published works will not be considered for the Award.
2. The publication date must be between July 1, 2020 and July 1, 2021.
3. The author must be a native of western North Carolina or a resident of western North Carolina for at least twelve months prior to the closing date for the Award.
4. An author may also qualify if the work submitted has a focus on or setting in western North Carolina.

Western North Carolina includes the Qualla Boundary and the following 25 counties: Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Surry, Swain, Transylvania, Watauga, Wilkes, Yadkin, and Yancey.

The Award Panel this year consists of: Catherine Frank, Chair, Director, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UNC Asheville; Dee James, retired Director of the First-Year Writing Program at UNC Asheville; Tom Muir, Historic Site Manager, Thomas Wolfe Memorial; Gordon McKinney, PhD, former president, Appalachian Studies Association; Terry Roberts, PhD, Director, National Paideia Center; Jim Stokely, President, Wilma Dykeman Legacy.

Nomination letters must specify the following eligibility criteria:

1. date of publication
2. birthplace or residence of author
3. setting of work

Nominators should submit a cover letter along with three copies of the work postmarked no later than July 31, 2021 to:

Wolfe Award Committee

℅ Anne Chesky Smith

WNC Historical Association

283 Victoria Road

Asheville, NC  28801

An awards ceremony and reception, in honor of the finalists and 2021 Award recipient, will be held in early December 2021.

The Association presented the first Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award to Wilma Dykeman in 1955 for The French Broad. The Award has continued to be funded, in part, by Mrs. E. Frank Edwin, a member of the Lipinsky family and for the last three years by WNCHA, and the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Advisory Board, both with support from Michael Sartisky, PhD. Other recipients of this prestigious Award include Robert Morgan, Gail Godwin, John Ehle, Robert Brunk, Michael McFee, Lee Smith, Ron Rash, Wayne Caldwell, and Terry Roberts. Sandra Muse Isaacs was the recipient of the 2020 Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award for her book: Eastern Cherokee Stories: A Living Oral Tradition and Its Cultural Continuance.

Get ready to go wild at the library for our annual Summer Learning Program. Join us for Tails & Tales – an exploration of wildlife and fantastical folktales. We’ll have an activity sheet with lots of fun adventures for all ages. You can pick up a sheet at any library starting June 1, or download it HERE. Check our calendar to find our most up to date list of programs all summer long.

The 2021 Summer Learning Program is open to young people, preschool through teen, with books and activities for every age. All library programs are free and open to children of all abilities. Come in and see what the library has for you!

Your vegetable garden is likely approaching peak production time—but when and how to harvest? Even if you are a pro, here’s how to make sure those caring for your precious crops while you’re away know when to pick!

What matters about harvest time?

• Harvest stage affects flavor and yields:
  • Picking too soon not only reduces the amount of food your garden produces but also may mean missing that perfectly ripened taste—although not all vegetables lose flavor after picking.
  • Waiting too long definitely means missing the best flavor—think sweet corn turned starchy—and your produce actually spoils. Crops literally go to seed have accomplished their goal and will stop producing!
• Factors that affect harvest and storage.
  • Warmer temperatures after picking can affect flavor—crops like peas and sweet corn that turn starchy, for example, need immediate cooling. Joseph Masabni of Texas A&M Extension, advises “harvest these vegetables early in the morning or right before you intend to use them.”
  • Not all crops benefit from refrigeration, however! And humidity levels and air circulation are important, too! If you’re not going to use your bounty immediately, some crops, such as garlic, dry onions, potatoes, and tomatoes are best stored only at room temperature, according to UC-Davis Post Harvest Technology specialists (see below). They also recommend that cucumbers, eggplants, and peppers be refrigerated only for 1 to 3 days and then used as soon as you remove them from the cold.
  • Advise those harvesting in your absence how often you check your crops, and which are most time-sensitive!

 Things to look for when you harvest

Harvesting takes more time than you’d expect—look carefully for items to pick amongst all those leaves and vines. This makes harvesting a great time to give your garden plants a quick check-up!

• Size matters!
  • Jokes abound about baseball-bat-size zucchini, but squash aren’t the only crops that can grow out of useful size.
  • If you intend to eat fresh beans rather than saving them to use dry, the beans need to just start to fill out their pods. 
    

    

     

• Color changes are usually important, too.
  • Tomatoes turning red are an obvious example, but how red is the best time for picking? Maybe earlier than you think! Picking at the “breaker” stage rather than fully red means your tomatoes will continue to ripen indoors, taste vine-ripened, but won’t suffer sunscald, or damage from insects or birds. 
    

    

     

  • Cucumbers should still be uniformly green, not starting to yellow. 
    

    

     

  •  Eggplants should be purple (light or dark depending on the variety), but still glossy, not dull 
    

    

     

  • Watermelons, on the other hand, should develop a duller, rougher surface and the spot touching the ground should be yellowing, not white 
    

    

     

  • .Detecting defects may mean removing fruits before they take any more resources from the plant—think blossom-end rot on tomatoes or peppers—or harvesting while part of the crop is still salvageable—such as a nip out of an otherwise healthy tomato.
  • Damage may alert you to insect infestations—minimize or eliminate, by hand-picking the culprits—such as snails or slugs—or treating to prevent further damage—wash away aphids on greens or treating pickleworm infestations of cucumbers and squash with pesticides, for example. Learn which “bugs” you see are pests and which are helpful predators!
  • Harvest “helpers” will be more eager to volunteer if they pick at the right time—and you won’t find all your tomatoes gone despite their size or plants loaded with overripe items bringing production to a halt. Alerting you to any emerging problems is another bonus.

“Harvesting” spent plants?

While picking your crops pick off dead leaves, spent blossoms, and trim errant runners to keep plants looking good and productive. Knowledgeable helpers can perform these tasks.

In WNC, most vegetable garden plants are annuals, or treated as such, so when you harvest, evaluate when it’s time to pull the whole plant—it may be too risky to ask short-term caregivers to make this decision!

• Is the plant diseased? If there are signs of disease, either do what you can to remove diseased portions, treat the problem, or remove the entire plant.
• Is production slowing?
  • Review fertilizing or watering practices to improve yields. Most crops need an inch of rain a week to prosper—water established plants deeply once a week if rains are insufficient. Check your crops’ needs for fertilizer and the application rates recommended for the fertilizers you are using.
  • Extreme temperatures may interfere with fruit set or how your crops ripen. Be patient if better weather will solve the problem! Note, though, that spring crops that fade with high temperatures are long gone; so too, frosts will damage tender crops, so harvest these before freezing temperatures.
  • Once you’ve decided your plants have passed peak production, pull the plants and consider planting a fall crop. See the calendar below for all the crops you can plant in August for a bountiful autumn harvest!

 Article by Buncombe County Extension Master Gardener^SM Volunteers

 For more information:

When to harvest specific crops: https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/extension-gardener-handbook/16-vegetable-gardening#vegetableharvestingguidelines

https://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/library/gardening/harvesting-handling-vegetables-garden/

Ripening after harvest:

https://gardenprofessors.com/ripening/

https://www.johnson.k-state.edu/lawn-garden/agent-articles/vegetables/harvest-ripen-tomatoes.html

Storing produce:

http://postharvest.ucdavis.edu/files/230110.pdf

Planting times for WNC:

https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/western-north-carolina-planting-calendar-for-annual-vegetables-fruits-and-herbs

NOMINATIONS BEING ACCEPTED FOR THE

2021 THOMAS WOLFE MEMORIAL LITERARY AWARD

The Western North Carolina Historical Association is now accepting nominations for the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award. Originated by the Louis Lipinsky family and now supported by Michael Sartisky, PhD, the Award is a partnership between WNCHA and the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Advisory Committee. It has been presented by WNCHA since 1955. The award comes with a $2,500 cash prize.

The deadline for submission of nominated works is July 31, 2021. Anyone with knowledge of an author who meets the qualification criteria may nominate the author for the award. To be considered, an entry must be a published work of fiction, nonfiction, drama or poetry and meet the following criteria:

1. It must be a first edition work; revised editions of published works will not be considered for the Award.
2. The publication date must be between July 1, 2020 and July 1, 2021.
3. The author must be a native of western North Carolina or a resident of western North Carolina for at least twelve months prior to the closing date for the Award.
4. An author may also qualify if the work submitted has a focus on or setting in western North Carolina.

Western North Carolina includes the Qualla Boundary and the following 25 counties: Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Surry, Swain, Transylvania, Watauga, Wilkes, Yadkin, and Yancey.

The Award Panel this year consists of: Catherine Frank, Chair, Director, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UNC Asheville; Dee James, retired Director of the First-Year Writing Program at UNC Asheville; Tom Muir, Historic Site Manager, Thomas Wolfe Memorial; Gordon McKinney, PhD, former president, Appalachian Studies Association; Terry Roberts, PhD, Director, National Paideia Center; Jim Stokely, President, Wilma Dykeman Legacy.

Nomination letters must specify the following eligibility criteria:

1. date of publication
2. birthplace or residence of author
3. setting of work

Nominators should submit a cover letter along with three copies of the work postmarked no later than July 31, 2021 to:

Wolfe Award Committee

℅ Anne Chesky Smith

WNC Historical Association

283 Victoria Road

Asheville, NC  28801

An awards ceremony and reception, in honor of the finalists and 2021 Award recipient, will be held in early December 2021.

The Association presented the first Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award to Wilma Dykeman in 1955 for The French Broad. The Award has continued to be funded, in part, by Mrs. E. Frank Edwin, a member of the Lipinsky family and for the last three years by WNCHA, and the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Advisory Board, both with support from Michael Sartisky, PhD. Other recipients of this prestigious Award include Robert Morgan, Gail Godwin, John Ehle, Robert Brunk, Michael McFee, Lee Smith, Ron Rash, Wayne Caldwell, and Terry Roberts. Sandra Muse Isaacs was the recipient of the 2020 Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award for her book: Eastern Cherokee Stories: A Living Oral Tradition and Its Cultural Continuance.

Get ready to go wild at the library for our annual Summer Learning Program. Join us for Tails & Tales – an exploration of wildlife and fantastical folktales. We’ll have an activity sheet with lots of fun adventures for all ages. You can pick up a sheet at any library starting June 1, or download it HERE. Check our calendar to find our most up to date list of programs all summer long.

The 2021 Summer Learning Program is open to young people, preschool through teen, with books and activities for every age. All library programs are free and open to children of all abilities. Come in and see what the library has for you!

Your vegetable garden is likely approaching peak production time—but when and how to harvest? Even if you are a pro, here’s how to make sure those caring for your precious crops while you’re away know when to pick!

What matters about harvest time?

• Harvest stage affects flavor and yields:
  • Picking too soon not only reduces the amount of food your garden produces but also may mean missing that perfectly ripened taste—although not all vegetables lose flavor after picking.
  • Waiting too long definitely means missing the best flavor—think sweet corn turned starchy—and your produce actually spoils. Crops literally go to seed have accomplished their goal and will stop producing!
• Factors that affect harvest and storage.
  • Warmer temperatures after picking can affect flavor—crops like peas and sweet corn that turn starchy, for example, need immediate cooling. Joseph Masabni of Texas A&M Extension, advises “harvest these vegetables early in the morning or right before you intend to use them.”
  • Not all crops benefit from refrigeration, however! And humidity levels and air circulation are important, too! If you’re not going to use your bounty immediately, some crops, such as garlic, dry onions, potatoes, and tomatoes are best stored only at room temperature, according to UC-Davis Post Harvest Technology specialists (see below). They also recommend that cucumbers, eggplants, and peppers be refrigerated only for 1 to 3 days and then used as soon as you remove them from the cold.
  • Advise those harvesting in your absence how often you check your crops, and which are most time-sensitive!

 Things to look for when you harvest

Harvesting takes more time than you’d expect—look carefully for items to pick amongst all those leaves and vines. This makes harvesting a great time to give your garden plants a quick check-up!

• Size matters!
  • Jokes abound about baseball-bat-size zucchini, but squash aren’t the only crops that can grow out of useful size.
  • If you intend to eat fresh beans rather than saving them to use dry, the beans need to just start to fill out their pods. 
    

    

     

• Color changes are usually important, too.
  • Tomatoes turning red are an obvious example, but how red is the best time for picking? Maybe earlier than you think! Picking at the “breaker” stage rather than fully red means your tomatoes will continue to ripen indoors, taste vine-ripened, but won’t suffer sunscald, or damage from insects or birds. 
    

    

     

  • Cucumbers should still be uniformly green, not starting to yellow. 
    

    

     

  •  Eggplants should be purple (light or dark depending on the variety), but still glossy, not dull 
    

    

     

  • Watermelons, on the other hand, should develop a duller, rougher surface and the spot touching the ground should be yellowing, not white 
    

    

     

  • .Detecting defects may mean removing fruits before they take any more resources from the plant—think blossom-end rot on tomatoes or peppers—or harvesting while part of the crop is still salvageable—such as a nip out of an otherwise healthy tomato.
  • Damage may alert you to insect infestations—minimize or eliminate, by hand-picking the culprits—such as snails or slugs—or treating to prevent further damage—wash away aphids on greens or treating pickleworm infestations of cucumbers and squash with pesticides, for example. Learn which “bugs” you see are pests and which are helpful predators!
  • Harvest “helpers” will be more eager to volunteer if they pick at the right time—and you won’t find all your tomatoes gone despite their size or plants loaded with overripe items bringing production to a halt. Alerting you to any emerging problems is another bonus.

“Harvesting” spent plants?

While picking your crops pick off dead leaves, spent blossoms, and trim errant runners to keep plants looking good and productive. Knowledgeable helpers can perform these tasks.

In WNC, most vegetable garden plants are annuals, or treated as such, so when you harvest, evaluate when it’s time to pull the whole plant—it may be too risky to ask short-term caregivers to make this decision!

• Is the plant diseased? If there are signs of disease, either do what you can to remove diseased portions, treat the problem, or remove the entire plant.
• Is production slowing?
  • Review fertilizing or watering practices to improve yields. Most crops need an inch of rain a week to prosper—water established plants deeply once a week if rains are insufficient. Check your crops’ needs for fertilizer and the application rates recommended for the fertilizers you are using.
  • Extreme temperatures may interfere with fruit set or how your crops ripen. Be patient if better weather will solve the problem! Note, though, that spring crops that fade with high temperatures are long gone; so too, frosts will damage tender crops, so harvest these before freezing temperatures.
  • Once you’ve decided your plants have passed peak production, pull the plants and consider planting a fall crop. See the calendar below for all the crops you can plant in August for a bountiful autumn harvest!

 Article by Buncombe County Extension Master Gardener^SM Volunteers

 For more information:

When to harvest specific crops: https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/extension-gardener-handbook/16-vegetable-gardening#vegetableharvestingguidelines

https://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/library/gardening/harvesting-handling-vegetables-garden/

Ripening after harvest:

https://gardenprofessors.com/ripening/

https://www.johnson.k-state.edu/lawn-garden/agent-articles/vegetables/harvest-ripen-tomatoes.html

Storing produce:

http://postharvest.ucdavis.edu/files/230110.pdf

Planting times for WNC:

https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/western-north-carolina-planting-calendar-for-annual-vegetables-fruits-and-herbs